CA Supreme Court ruling: LA County overcharged cities by millions

by Julie Small

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California’s Supreme Court found Monday that Los Angeles County owes millions of dollars to 47 cities in Southern California.

In a 7-0 ruling, the state's highest court found the county had overcharged the cities for administering property tax revenues, dating to 2006.

The City of Alhambra challenged the fees in court in 2008. Dozens of other cities joined as parties in the suit, including Calabasas, Burbank, Glendale, Culver City, Pomona and Santa Clarita. The City of Los Angeles did not sue.

Michael Coleman, a fiscal policy advisor to the League of California Cities, said the case will affect most counties in California because they applied the same accounting standards. Statewide, he says, counties could be on the hook to pay back tens of millions of dollars.